In a first, man uses car to snatch chains

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The modus operandi of chain snatchers seems to be undergoing a paradigm shift of sorts. While the usual mode of transport for such thieves was earlier restricted to

Illustration by Varghese Kallada

Chennai:

Two-wheelers and autorickshaws, it has evolved so much so that on Tuesday morning, a man in a car snatched gold chains from two people in the southern suburbs.

Police are on the lookout for the man using a Tata Indica car whose number plate had been smeared with dirt. Around 5.30 am, a 65-year-old man was walking on the Inner Ring Road at St. Thomas Mount when an Indica car came and halted right next to him. The driver lowered the glass windowpane and handed over a small piece of paper to him with an address written on it. “When the elderly man peeped through the window to read the address and guide him, the driver seized the opportunity and snatched his three-sovereign gold chain and drove away,” a police officer said.

Police said that the old man held on to the chain till it broke into two. As the number plate was covered with dirt, he could not read the registration number of the vehicle. The Adambakkam police have registered a case.

Within an hour, a similar incident took place in Nanganallur when Malathi (62) was plucking flowers outside her house. A car stopped in front of the woman’s house and applied the same modus operandi- the driver asked her for help with an address and presented a slip of paper.

“When Malathi was guiding him, the miscreant snatched her 7-sovereign gold chain and escaped from the spot,” police said. Malathi filed a complaint with the Pazhavanthangal police station and further investigations are on.

Police suspect that the same person is involved in both the incidents are a team is browsing CCTV footage from the areas to nab the accused.

MODUS OPERANDI

In both the cases, the driver stopped the car near the victims, brought out a piece of paper asking for directions to a particular address. He snatched the gold chains the moment they stepped in to help. Police are assessing CCTV footage to nab the accused